Impact Guarantee: Building the infrastructure for inclusive capital
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
10-11AM PDT • 1-2PM EDT • 2-3PM ADT
Julia Grady
Executive Director
& Co-Founder,
10C
Allison Gibson
Chief of Staff,
New Power Labs
Eric In
Senior Advisor
New Power Labs
About the session
Banks and large investors price risk by collateral, institutional track record, and existing relationships with lenders and investors. Non-profits, charities, rural organizations, and underfunded entrepreneurs consistently fail that test, not because the work is unsound, but because the test was built for institutions with assets and history behind them. Canada's community lending funds have stepped in to fill that gap.
Until now, each one has carried the risk alone, capping how much it can lend without threatening its own balance sheet, and keeping otherwise viable borrowers out of reach. For many small-and medium-sized social finance intermediaries (SFIs), including community lending funds, a single loan default can threaten their viability and their ability to keep lending. This limits their capacity to invest or lend to underfunded communities.
The Impact Guarantee, pools loan guarantees from multiple funders so no single community lending fund has to absorb a default on its own. Its goal is to help more SFIs raise capital, reach underfunded communities, and build a stronger foundation for Canada’s social finance future. The initiative is co-led by Thrive Impact Fund and 10C, and backed by Boann Social Impact and the Government of Canada.
Join us for a conversation with Julia Grady, Executive Director and Co-Founder of 10C and co-lead of the Impact Guarantee, Eric In, founder of Mapleric Impact Positif and New Power Labs’ senior advisor, and Allison Gibson, New Power Labs’ Chief of Staff, to examine what this infrastructure makes possible, and what it takes for foundations, family offices, and governments to become guarantors.
10C is a pledger to Fund Canada, New Power Labs' national initiative to unlock $500 million in grants and investments for underfunded and overlooked leaders by 2030.
About the speakers
Julia Grady, Executive Director & Co-Founder, 10C & Co-Lead of Impact Guarantee
Julia is a placemaker and builder of community-based social infrastructure, integrating social, physical, and financial platforms for community benefit, working primarily in the non-profit sector. As the founder of the non-profit organization 10C Shared Space, Julia manages a $2.75 million real-estate-backed community bond that financed its 2016 expansion, engaged 150 community investors, now generates over $ 100,000 in annual local returns, and has driven a 17-fold organizational growth. Building on this, 10C launched Harvest Impact, a community-based fund that invests in food, farm, and environmental entrepreneurs with a focus on the circular economy. Julia is passionate about community wealth building, social entrepreneurship, the economies of place, and seeks to demonstrate the potential of social finance and social enterprise through locally and nationally relevant changemaking projects.
Eric In, Founder of Mapleric Impact Positif & Senior Advisor, New Power Labs
Eric In is the President and Founder of Mapleric Positive Impact, a strategic consulting firm dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, impact funds, and non-profits in designing impactful growth, financing strategies and strategic positioning. The firm specializes in organizations that generate positive outcomes for people and the planet, drawing on Eric’s experience across healthcare, technology, food, and services, with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is currently supporting the design of the Impact Guarantee.
With 17 years as a venture and impact investor, Eric has led over $100 million in investments across 45 private deals, including venture capital, debt, and business transfers. Since 2020, his focus has been on impact investing, building on earlier roles at organizations such as Entrepreneur Venture (SME private investments), Dragonfly Ventures (impact driven single family office), and larger institutions like CIC Capital Ventures, and Fondaction, as well as launching the North American arm of a cybersecurity startup.
Eric actively contributes to the Québec gender lens investing community and the social finance ecosystem. Since autumn 2024, he has provided consulting and training services for investment funds, entrepreneurs, and organizations advancing environmental, health, and societal progress through innovative approaches.
Eric holds a computer science engineering degree from ENSIIE and a master in finance of ESSEC.
Allison Gibson, Chief of Staff, New Power Labs
Allison Gibson is an award-winning entrepreneur and champion for social capital. She leverages her fundraising expertise to help founders access values-aligned funding and is passionate about demystifying venture capital for diverse founders. Allison also works with investors and funding programs to integrate impact into their investment thesis and processes, with the goal of shifting more capital toward under-represented entrepreneurs and communities.